Music Spotlight

As the number of do-it-yourself electronic musicians grows, so does their urge to break out of stereotypes the music is so often tagged with: too cold and sterile and humorless, or accusations of being simply lazy for just pushing buttons on a keyboard or dragging a mouse. Since the Triangle is now firmly on the map when these musicians decide to tour (squeezed in between metropolitan East Coast dates and European jaunts), Go! Studios in Carrboro will host a show by Oakland's Kevin Blechdom and Danish artist Goodiepal. These folks incorporate their computer skills with their love of acoustic instruments, "Speak and Spell"-type toys and video game noises in a kitchen sink approach that kicks the door open for experimentation. Ms. Blechdom (alias Kristin Erickson) emerged from the halls of noted music school Mills College a few years ago, and with friend Bevin Kelley formed the duo Blectum from Blechdom. Fantastical monsters and sexual bravado mingle in their songs, with playful vocals delivered over loose, manually triggered beats and cuts. Had Tim Burton set Edward Scissorhands in suburbia circa now, BFB would have ruled the soundtrack. After accolades from the young neo-cyberpunk crowd and international academic acclaim (winning a prestigious Ars Electronica award), the ladies decided to do their own thing. Kevin's solo work can be new wave-sounding electro-pop, like her version of Tina Turner's "Private Dancer," or bubbly minimal techno, sometimes with banjo or MIDI keyboard (those huge guitar-looking throwbacks with shoulder-straps). Look for Goodiepal, aka Kristian Vester, to completely blur the line between electro and acoustic. He often plays lute, recorder, or maybe turntable, then blends them via computer into densely layered pastoral folk songs with beautiful choruses and frenzied overloads. Catch Vester before he heads back to Copenhagen. This is truly modern music at its most inventive. Kevin Blechdom and Danish artist Goodiepal visit Go! Studios in Carrboro on Tuesday, Sept. 10. Locals Dotist and Riktor open up. Chris Toenes